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Sir Keir Starmer traveled to north Wales this past Thursday to reveal the building of a fresh nuclear energy facility. This is a major policy announcement with implications at local and countrywide levels. However, the prime minister did not dedicate extensive time in Wales to promoting answers for the UK's energy needs. Rather, he used the time attempting to put an end to the briefing controversy within Labour's leadership, informing journalists that No 10 had not undermined the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.

As such, Sir Keir’s day acted as a small-scale example of what his premiership has now become overall. On the one hand, he desires his government to be doing, and to be perceived as performing, important things. Conversely, he is unable to accomplish this because of the manner he – and, to an extent, the nation more generally – now practices politics and government.

Sir Keir cannot transform the culture of politics on his own, but he is able to take action about his own role in it. The simple truth is that he could manage the centre of government much more effectively than he does. If he did this, he could discover that the country was in less dismay about his government than it is, and that he was getting his messages across more successfully.

Personnel Problems in No 10

A number of the problems in Number 10 relate to personnel. The interpersonal relations of any No 10 regime are difficult to discern accurately from the exterior. But it seems obvious that Sir Keir does not make good personnel choices, or maintain them. Maybe he is overly occupied. Possibly he lacks genuine interest. But he needs to improve his performance, not do things slowly or by halves.

• He dithered about giving the crucial role of top civil servant to Chris Wormald.
• He made a former official his chief of staff, then substituted her with Morgan McSweeney.
• He brought Darren Jones in from the finance ministry as his chief secretary.
• His media advisors have been frequently replaced.
• Advisors on politics and policy have entered and exited.
• The situation is chaotic.

Structural Challenges at the Core of Government

All premiers devote excessive time abroad and on foreign affairs, where Sir Keir should delegate more, and insufficient time conversing with parliamentarians and hearing the public. Prime ministers also spend too much time doing media, which Sir Keir compounds by performing inadequately. But premiers cannot claim to be surprised when their political appointees, who are often party activists or politically ambitious, overstep boundaries or become the focus, as the chief of staff has recently.

The biggest issues, however, are systemic. It would be good to think that Sir Keir read the Institute for Government’s March 2024 report on reforming the government's central operations. His failure to address these matters in the summer or since suggests he did not. The often abject performance of Labour’s time in office indicates IfG proposals like restructuring the functions of the central government office and Downing Street, and dividing the positions of top official and civil service head, are now urgent.

The dominant political role of prime ministers greatly exceeds the support available to them. Consequently, everything currently suffers, and much is done badly or neglected.

This is not Sir Keir’s fault alone. He is the casualty of past failures as well as the author of current mistakes. But those who hoped Sir Keir might get a grip on the core and prioritize governmental structures have been let down. Unfortunately, the biggest loser from this failure is Sir Keir himself.